This story was
Published in The Lowell Sun
and The Daily Evening Item
Published:
January 2000
By Heather Burke
Before kids,
my idea of a perfect vacation was relaxation, a good book, just
unwinding. But vacationing with the family is a different ball game
all together. Kids need wall-to-wall excitement, endless diversion.
Here is where the family ski trip is the perfect winter retreat. In
recent years, ski resorts have tuned in to families with all-inclusive
packages and so many organized activities besides the obvious sliding
downhill – it will make your head spin. A vacation on the slopes makes
for an action packed retreat, something for everyone to do, the kids
are involved with diversions from supervised snow sports to indoor
games, shows, and theme evenings. With the kids entertained, parents
have the freedom to do as much or as little as they desire.
Although
weekend ski trips may fit your schedule, midweek Sunday to Friday
stays afford the best value as well as fewer people at the resort and
on the slopes. If you can take advantage of the midweek ski and stay
packages, you will be glad you did, a better experience for your
family for a better price. Resorts are looking to attract families on
non-holiday midweek stays, so you will find package prices including
“freebies”, specially planned activities, and lower ratios of
instructors to children which means more attention for your kids.
“Playing hooky”, to avoid weekend and holiday crowds, though not
promoted by your school board, can be very educational. That’s why
they call it “ski school”. Below are several family-friendly resorts
within driving distance of Boston that have expanded their programs to
accommodate kids in new and fun-filled ways.
Sugarloaf
has been a favorite destination for families for years with its’ big
ski mountain and convenient slopeside village. From the lively
restaurants and pubs, to the shops and Village Market, everything you
need for a week is at your doorstep. Kids at the all-day ski camp love
meeting Amos the Moose and his forest friends, Pierre & Blueberry
Bear. The Sugarloaf staff is very attentive when it comes to caring
for and teaching your youngsters. So you can feel reassured as you
explore Sugarloaf’s vast and
challenging terrain while the kids are in
camp. The northern Maine location means lots of snow and a long ski
season too. Our family makes Easter an annual tradition at The Loaf,
complete with costume parade and an egg hunt around the base lodge.
Ask about Sugarloaf children’s festivals and family fling weeks, which
offer 50% off or even free Perfect Kids ski camps, and childcare for
the younger ones. Mom & Dad receive free Perfect Turn clinics on these
special weeks too. Great skiing, a new tubing hill, lots of après ski
goings-on in the village, even the Avalanche – a center for teens,
make Sugarloaf well worth the drive. You will see first-hand why
Sugarloaf has earned a reputation for exceptional mountain
hospitality.
In the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, the Wildflower Inn provides the
epitome of a back to nature winter vacation. This historic inn is set
on the most beautiful Vermont hillside, offering fine lodging,
delicious country inn meals, and best of all - kids are more than
welcome in this charming environment. To cater to the younger inn
guests, activities abound on the Wildflower’s expansive scenic
property. Slide down the awesome sledding hill, borrow some skates for
the ice-skating pond, tour the petting zoo or take a moonlit snowshoe
tour led by the innkeeper himself. If downhill skiing is more your
speed, Burke Mountain Ski Area is just two miles away. Burke has some
outstanding skiing; the expansive beginners’ area has plenty of
elbowroom and a top-notch ski school for all abilities. The upper
mountain at Burke is the training facility for some of the best future
ski racers in the country. So you can be certain, Burke has plenty of
challenge to satisfy the more experienced skiers in your party. The
locale is a tad remote, so you may feel like you have the mountain all
to yourselves. And the people in this part of Vermont are warm,
friendly and just happy to have you as their guest.
Smugglers’ Notch Vermont heralds itself as “America’s Family Resort”.
Spend a week there and you will see why. This well marketed resort has
the most extensive roster of activities I have ever seen. The Village
provides a perfect community for families to walk from their fully
equipped condominium to the daycare, all day children’s camps, the
general store, or the nightly family entertainment at the Meeting
House. Smugglers’ is a theme park among ski resorts, right down to the
costumed character, Mogul Mouse (perhaps Mickey’s cousin to the
north). Smugglers’ village is located at the base of one of three
sizable ski mountains, all interconnected and serviced by rather
antiquated double chairs. Old lifts aside, this ski area truly offers
something for everyone. Perfectly convenient, the beginner terrain is
closest to the condos. The upper mountains have intermediate and
expert terrain the likes you find only at the East’s larger resorts.
The “Snowsports University” as they have coined it, has tremendous
learning programs for toddlers on up, encompassing lessons on the
slopes to their unique “Science of Nature” after ski curriculum. While
the kids are in the all day camp, Mom & Dad can try their hand at
anything from snow shoeing to an art workshop or a massage clinic.
Each evening you can choose from family dining and entertainment, or
have a romantic dinner followed by karaoke while the kids are at
“Parents Night Out”. If you are concerned about missed school,
certified teachers supervise a “Study Hall” so the kids can keep up
with their homework on Wednesday evening. The Club Smugglers packages
offer the best value, including most of the endless activities. They
have literally thought of everything at this wholesome, self-contained
resort.
For an out-of-country experience, Mont Tremblant in the Canadian
Laurentians makes for an unforgettable vacation with international
flair. This resort has been rejuvenated with $500 million in capital
over the past decade. The result is the charm of a European ski
village with all the modern amenities you would expect. Tremblant
features a two sided ski mountain with the most impressive lift
facilities, even a new 8 passenger heated gondola to the summit,
departing from the base village. Our kids loved being in a foreign
country, surrounded by Franco-phones. Our son proclaimed, “In Canada,
they really teach you to ski, not just play games”. In addition to
learning to ski in the all day “Kidz Club”, they picked up some French
too (though not required, this resort is bilingual). Of course, they
still had enough energy for the new Aqua Club, which is an amusement
park of pools, water slides, rope swings and hot tubs. If you have not
had enough adventure, they offer dog sledding and snowmobile tours.
The centerpiece of all Tremblant’s entertainment is the perfectly
designed (not to mention award winning) pedestrian village brimming
with boutiques, restaurants and cafes, even a cinema. The exchange
rate is on your side to make this an affordable family trip of global
proportions.
Bretton
Woods Resort in New Hampshire is a haven for the learning family,
located in the beautiful Mount Washington Valley. This ski area is
noted for its gentle terrain, and perfectly manicured slopes, and the
view of the Northeast’s highest summit, Mount Washington, is nothing
shy of spectacular. Their Hobbit kids program is one of the best I
have seen. Families staying at any of the lodging properties in the
Bretton Woods Resort have the opportunity to choose from downhill,
cross-country, snow shoeing, ice-skating, even horse drawn sleigh
rides.
Depending upon your budget and your desires, lodging at Bretton Woods
ranges from nicely appointed condominiums, inns and motels, on up to
the ultimate grand hotel. The resort owners have completely restored
the 1902 Hotel Mount Washington to welcome her first winter guests
during the 2000 season in world-class luxury and style. Staying at the
Hotel, all your cares and diversions are tended to, concluding each
day with gourmet dining and dancing with an orchestra in the elegant
formal dining room. Of course, the children are treated to their own
entertainment and dinner at the Hotel’s “King of the Mountain”
supervised camp. The Hotel Mount Washington represents so much more
than a ski vacation, it’s a lavish experience of a bye-gone era. All
this grandeur will cost you, but you will be part of history as one of
the first winter guests ever in this renaissance hotel.
These resorts will offer you and your family a fun filled week on and
off the slopes. Be sure to bring the camera for the many “Kodak”
moments. And you may want to pencil in a post-vacation day to catch up
on some rest. Family ski vacations tend to be action packed, but
that’s what makes them so well suited for the whole gang!
Contact Information:
Sugarloaf USA 1-800-THE LOAF or visit their web site www.sugarloaf.com
Smuggler Notch Resort 1-800-451-8752 or visit www.smuggs.com
Burke Mountain Ski Area, Burke Vermont 1-877-BURKE-VT or visit
www.burkemountain.com
For Wildflower Inn lodging and information 1-800627-8310 or visit
www.wildflowerinn.com
Bretton Woods Ski Resort lodging and the Mount Washington Hotel call
1-800-258-0300 or visit www.mtwashington.com and www.brettonwoods.com
Mont Tremblant in Canada 1-877-TREMBLANT or visit www.tremblant.ca
Before kids,
my idea of a perfect vacation was relaxation, a good book, just
unwinding. But vacationing with the family is a different ball game
all together. Kids need wall-to-wall excitement, endless diversion.
Here is where the family ski trip is the perfect winter retreat. In
recent years, ski resorts have tuned in to families with all-inclusive
packages and so many organized activities besides the obvious sliding
downhill – it will make your head spin. A vacation on the slopes makes
for an action packed retreat, something for everyone to do, the kids
are involved with diversions from supervised snow sports to indoor
games, shows, and theme evenings. With the kids entertained, parents
have the freedom to do as much or as little as they desire. 
Although
weekend ski trips may fit your schedule, midweek Sunday to Friday
stays afford the best value as well as fewer people at the resort and
on the slopes. If you can take advantage of the midweek ski and stay
packages, you will be glad you did, a better experience for your
family for a better price. Resorts are looking to attract families on
non-holiday midweek stays, so you will find package prices including
“freebies”, specially planned activities, and lower ratios of
instructors to children which means more attention for your kids.
“Playing hooky”, to avoid weekend and holiday crowds, though not
promoted by your school board, can be very educational. That’s why
they call it “ski school”. Below are several family-friendly resorts
within driving distance of Boston that have expanded their programs to
accommodate kids in new and fun-filled ways.
Sugarloaf
has been a favorite destination for families for years with its’ big
ski mountain and convenient slopeside village. From the lively
restaurants and pubs, to the shops and Village Market, everything you
need for a week is at your doorstep. Kids at the all-day ski camp love
meeting Amos the Moose and his forest friends, Pierre & Blueberry
Bear. The Sugarloaf staff is very attentive when it comes to caring
for and teaching your youngsters. So you can feel reassured as you
explore Sugarloaf’s vast and
challenging terrain while the kids are in
camp. The northern Maine location means lots of snow and a long ski
season too. Our family makes Easter an annual tradition at The Loaf,
complete with costume parade and an egg hunt around the base lodge.
Ask about Sugarloaf children’s festivals and family fling weeks, which
offer 50% off or even free Perfect Kids ski camps, and childcare for
the younger ones. Mom & Dad receive free Perfect Turn clinics on these
special weeks too. Great skiing, a new tubing hill, lots of après ski
goings-on in the village, even the Avalanche – a center for teens,
make Sugarloaf well worth the drive. You will see first-hand why
Sugarloaf has earned a reputation for exceptional mountain
hospitality.
Smugglers’ Notch Vermont heralds itself as “America’s Family Resort”.
Spend a week there and you will see why. This well marketed resort has
the most extensive roster of activities I have ever seen. The Village
provides a perfect community for families to walk from their fully
equipped condominium to the daycare, all day children’s camps, the
general store, or the nightly family entertainment at the Meeting
House. Smugglers’ is a theme park among ski resorts, right down to the
costumed character, Mogul Mouse (perhaps Mickey’s cousin to the
north). Smugglers’ village is located at the base of one of three
sizable ski mountains, all interconnected and serviced by rather
antiquated double chairs. Old lifts aside, this ski area truly offers
something for everyone. Perfectly convenient, the beginner terrain is
closest to the condos. The upper mountains have intermediate and
expert terrain the likes you find only at the East’s larger resorts.
The “Snowsports University” as they have coined it, has tremendous
learning programs for toddlers on up, encompassing lessons on the
slopes to their unique “Science of Nature” after ski curriculum. While
the kids are in the all day camp, Mom & Dad can try their hand at
anything from snow shoeing to an art workshop or a massage clinic.
Each evening you can choose from family dining and entertainment, or
have a romantic dinner followed by karaoke while the kids are at
“Parents Night Out”. If you are concerned about missed school,
certified teachers supervise a “Study Hall” so the kids can keep up
with their homework on Wednesday evening. The Club Smugglers packages
offer the best value, including most of the endless activities. They
have literally thought of everything at this wholesome, self-contained
resort. 
Bretton
Woods Resort in New Hampshire is a haven for the learning family,
located in the beautiful Mount Washington Valley. This ski area is
noted for its gentle terrain, and perfectly manicured slopes, and the
view of the Northeast’s highest summit, Mount Washington, is nothing
shy of spectacular. Their Hobbit kids program is one of the best I
have seen. Families staying at any of the lodging properties in the
Bretton Woods Resort have the opportunity to choose from downhill,
cross-country, snow shoeing, ice-skating, even horse drawn sleigh
rides.